One of the more unfortunate side effects of eating a Paleo or even gluten-free diet is that most of society does not eat this way. This means foods that are forbidden to us are ubiquitous at get-togethers, school functions, holiday parties, etc. I mean, it's really hard to get away from it all. And it can be difficult to explain to a 4- and 6-year-old that they cannot have a cupcake when everyone else is enjoying one. It's just one of the sucky things about living this way, but I'll take those awkward moments when we politely decline the post-soccer granola bar than have our family be sick. All the time. Like we used to be.

I'm grateful that my kids go to a small private school (we're very blessed), and that all the teachers and staff know my kids eat gluten-free. If another student brings in cupcakes for his birthday, I send in a gluten-free treat for my child to enjoy -- so far our system is working out great. Today, Big C's class is learning about Russia (each Friday they have lessons on other cultures) which includes making potato latkes in the school kitchen. The teacher was awesome enough to send me the recipe ahead of time for review, and yes, it has gluten in it (sigh). So I searched the internet for an alternative Russian recipe that I could make and have Big C bring in to also share with the class.

Most of the recipes had flour and a lot of butter, so I had to dig deeper. I eventually found a coconut cookie recipe that I modified just slightly. Yeah, it has sugar in it (and Big C is still mainly sugar-free), but I figured it is just one tiny cookie... and in the grand scheme of things, that's not so bad. And she might actually feel normal for a change at school, sharing her Russian cookies with everyone instead of being the odd one out when it comes to food. Oh, the things we do for our health and our kids.

This Friday marks our one-month sugar-free anniversary -- otherwise known as Raspberry/Blueberry Day to the kids. It will be one month of no sugar -- no fruit, no honey, no syrup, no juice. And NO grains. Yeah, I thought this month was going to be an absolute nightmare, but it has gone rather smoothly.

Big C's behavior has been less volatile (she's easily frustrated), and the start to her 1st grade school year has gone wonderfully. Her sister, Little A, is doing great, too -- no complaints from me. In fact, while I do plan on allowing some sugar back in the diet, I don't plan on going back to the way things were before. It's not like we ate a lot o sugar before this, but once you add up the small amounts -- the raspberries, the bit of jam on a sandwich (grains = sugar), the side of strawberries at lunch -- and the sugar adds up fast.

Speaking of sugar, I'm a regular grocery store ad scanner, and sometimes I'm about beside myself when I look at some of the pages. A lot of people don't think about grains breaking down into sugar quickly in the body (so that eating grains is essentially like eating sugar in terms of insulin response), but that's what really happens. These are the actual products from the grocery store ad where I typically shop for groceries: cheese crackers, regular crackers, soda, soda, more soda, hamburger buns, bread loaf, baked beans, sports drink, cookies, graham crackers, pretzel snacks, potato chips, cake rolls and peanut butter bars. It's like a sugar bomb exploded all over the page. Then I turn the page of the ad, and guess what comes up? Rice snacks, confectioner's and brown sugar, cheese puffs, pretzels, frozen pizzas and pizza rolls, boxed instant rice, boxed pasta with seasoning packet, Kool-Aid (I had a permanent Kool-Aid mustache as a kid that would literally not come off), animal crackers and cookies, frozen juice concentrate, canned ravioli (a kid staple in my house growing up), refrigerator biscuits and rolls, peanut butter cups, chocolate covered mint candies, more boxed pasta, popcorn, frozen dinners (featuring pasta and mashed potatoes), and frozen breaded chicken and veal patties. No wonder America is unhealthy, no wonder more kids have behavioral disorders and autism, no wonder everyone is so sick. Look at the junk being sold to us. And almost everyone is buying it! If I turn the ad two more pages, there's another page almost just like the other two full of juice, pasta, candy and frozen pizza. I'm not saying I'm perfect, and I did use to buy a lot of that stuff -- heck, I grew up on all of that stuff. But it's time for us to get back to basics -- vegetables, fruits, grass-fed and free-range meats, nuts, seeds, etc. Who's with me?

Okay, now that I'm done with my rant, let's get down to the recipe for today. My mother-in-law brought me a butternut squash from a local farmer's market. I'm not a big squash fan, and last year I attempted a butternut squash soup that left me a little queasy around the squash, so I wasn't sure what to do with the beast (it was a big squash). But my tastes have changed so much over the past year, and I have really wanted to find new ways to make -- and like -- all of the lovely kinds of squash I see at the market. James came across some recipes for butternut squash fries and I was sold. So I used the cooking method from the Urban Poser but added some coconut oil and more salt to my version. Little A ate it up. Big C, aka The Pickiest Eater Ever, said they weren't terrible but they weren't her favorite. In my book, that's an A.

Butternut Squash Fries

1 small butternut squash or just the neck from a large butternut squash2 tsp coconut oil, meltedsea salt

1. Line a baking sheet with paper towel. Cut the neck off of the butternut squash, then carefully peel the skin off using a sharp knife. If using the bottom half of the squash, scoop out and discard seeds (or feed them to your chickens if you're lucky enough to have a flock). Cut the squash into 1/4-inch strips, doing your best to keep the pieces the same size. Lay on the paper towel, sprinkle with salt and allow to sit for 20-30 minutes.

2. After squash has rested, pat dry with paper towels. Remove paper towel from baking sheet and arrange squash in a single layer on the sheet. Place under the broiler on high about 6 inches away from the heating element.

3. Broil for about 5 minutes or until the squash starts to brown. With a large spatula, gently turn the fries over (be gentle or the pieces will break). Continue to broil another few minutes, then flip again. Broil some more and flip until the fries are crispy golden brown. Sprinkle again with salt. Serve.

For those of you following my Facebook page, you may know that I've been a little sick this past couple of days. It's nothing bad -- just a sore throat, fatigue and aches. But it's been enough to make me lay down the last two days instead of cooking in the kitchen or picking up the whirl of clutter (aka toys) that constantly swirls around my house, landing on every conceivable surface in our house. This is the first time I've been sick since going Paleo about 6 months ago, which is a long time for me to go without getting some kind of sore throat or stuffed up nose. I was surprised how much better I got over illnesses after going gluten-free a year ago, but that's gotten even better after going Paleo. So no complaints about getting sick: it happens.

The more James and I delve into the world of natural eating -- into Paleo eating the way our ancestors did long ago -- the more we keep learning about the health benefits of bone broth (which you can read about at Balanced Bites). Bone broth isn't just for sick people, but it sure does go down well with a sore throat.

A week or so ago, we made up some broth -- chicken and beef -- and then canned them up using my mother-in-law's pressure canner. Today, I busted open a jar, warmed some broth in a mug and drank that stuff up. It was gooood. Now James is coming down with this virus, and Dr. Amber is prescribing some mineral-rich bone broth to the rescue.

When we cut up a whole chicken for grilling, we freeze the extra parts, like the back, and then use those to make a flavorful, nutrient-rich broth. We also do the same for some beef bones in a roast if we don't need them for our original recipe. Beef shanks and oxtail are generally inexpensive cuts of meat to use for this recipe. Makes about 4 quarts

1. In a large stockpot or dutch oven, heat lard or bacon fat over medium-high heat. Add chicken or beef bones and cook until browned. Flip over and brown on other side. Be sure not to overcrowd pan, leaving at least 1 inch of space between bones; this process is best done in batches.

2. Put all of the bones in the pot along with the onion, carrot, celery and thyme. Add enough water to cover all of the chicken/beef, leaving about 3 inches to the top of the pot. Cover and bring to a boil. Lower temperature to low and continue to cook at a low boil for 4-6 hours.

3. After broth has been cooked, allow to cool for about a half hour. Cut a piece of cheesecloth to fit over a colander. Fit the colander over a large bowl and strain the broth through the cheesecloth and colander. Squeeze remaining solids to extract more broth. Then with a fresh piece of cheesecloth, strain the broth one more time. Salt to taste. Serve.

We are in full sugar-free swing here in our house -- 16 days. Nobody grumbles about not getting strawberries or raspberries or pancakes with syrup, and to say that I'm proud at how my little kiddies are handling the situation would be a grand understatement. All of the gnarly behavior we had during the first week from the sugar withdrawal is long gone, and both kids have started school this past week with great reports from their teachers.

During our first sugar-free week, I spent a lot of time in the kitchen in a sad attempt to reinvent our old recipes without the honey or syrup or fruit. And I failed. A lot. Chocolate popsicles with stevia? Not good. Sweet potato cookies with nut butter? Not so great. Coconut Creams? Too salty (whoops!).

Then, after a lot of frustration and worry that my oldest was not getting any vegetables in her diet, I finally scored -- a sugar-free muffin sweetened with a sweet potato. I'll be the first to admit that I'm not one who likes to persevere in the face of repeated failure, but I'm so glad I stuck with my recipe experiments -- good and bad. My apologies to my kids who suffered through some pretty bad tastes tests (those chocolate popsicles were gag-inducing).

I recommend these muffins only after you've gone sugar-free for a week or so as your taste buds will become more sensitive to the very slight sweetness in this recipe. You can still make this with a hint of sweetener if desired -- 2 to 3 T of honey should do the trick nicely.

2. In a bowl, combine almond flour, cocoa, baking soda and salt. In a large bowl, stir together sweet potato, eggs, coconut oil and vanilla until smooth. Add dry ingredients to wet ingredients and stir until fully incorporated. Batter will be very thick.

3.Spoon mixture into lined muffin tin, filling almost all the way to the top for each cup.

4. Bake for about 25-30 minutes until toothpick inserted in the middle comes out clean. Cool for 1 hour before serving.

*To get the maximum sweetness out of a sweet potato, wrap in foil and place in a COLD oven. Turn oven to 350 and bake for about 45 minutes to an hour depending on the size of the sweet potato until fork tender.